VEXILLUM — Unum (review)

Album · 2015 · Folk Metal

4/5 · 2015-02-06
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Unum (2015) is the third full-length album by Italian power/folk metal act Vexillum. In the time since the release of their last album The Bivouac (2012) the band has added guitarist Francesco Caprina (Absolute Priority) to their line-up, replacing Andrea Calvanico. Unum is a concept album/metal opera featuring Vexillum's vocalist in the lead role with a small supporting cast providing guest vocals on one song each respectively on tracks two through five. A couple of those guests are quite high profile in the power metal scene being none other than Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) and Chris Bay (Freedom Call). The other two guests are Maxi Nil (Jaded Star), who also had a guest slot on The Bivouac, and Mark Boals (Ring of Fire).

Musically Vexillum reminded me a lot of their countrymen Elvenking when I listened to The Bivouac a few years ago and that's something that hasn't changed with the release of Unum. In fact Unum reminds me even more of Elvenking than its predecessor did to the point that as I was first listening to it and decided to do some research to refresh myself on the band I actually subconsciously started typing Elvenking instead of Vexillum, that was how much the music reminded me of the other band. I've never been one to scream the 'clone act' accusation but I've never mistaken a band's music for another's (especially when I knew what I was listening to!) either. I will say that Unum still strikes me as a little bit more of a power metal album than a folk metal album (which is contrary to most Elvenking) but it is true that Vexillum upped their folk elements a lot for this one when put next to The Bivouac, so it is more of a fully-fledged folk-power metal record this time.

That's the bad-ish news I guess, at least if you're the sort to let strong similarities between two bands put you off. Personally speaking I do find it a little concerning that as the years have gone on Vexillum have gotten more like another band rather than forging their own identity but Unum as an album based on its own merits does more than enough for me to have got over it by the end of my first spin. It really strikes me as Vexillum upping their game as composers. It's apparent even after one spin that Unum is a higher quality record than The Bivouac, which I also happen to think is pretty solid stuff. The music seems more powerful and overall it's a more fun and easy album to listen to, sticking with me quite a while after the end. I can't say whether this is the best Vexillum record so far as I haven't heard their debut The Wandering Notes (2011) but I do know that having enjoyed The Bivouac previously Unum makes me even more interested in where Vexillum can take their music next. Despite rampant similarities to Elvenking the increased folk elements are a nice touch and the duets are effective. Even the two cover songs that close the album (Tazenda's Spunta La Luna Dal Monte and Slade's Run Runaway) are pretty damn effective in Vexillum's style. 4 Stars.